Why the NBA's biggest stars all want to be free agents in 2016

With the NBA’s enormous new television contracts kicking in for the 2016-17 season, we knew the salary cap was going to go up. However, the NBA was hoping that the growth would be gradual over a few years.

That’s not going to happen.

The players’ association rejected the proposal according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, meaning the salary cap is going to jump 33-39% following the 2015-16 season. According to the NBA’s own data, the salary cap is expected to jump from $US66 million next season to $US88-90 million for the 2016-17 season, and some of the NBA’s biggest stars are going to cash in big time.

Players scheduled to become free agents in 2016 include Kevin Durant and Joakim Noah. Other players, like LeBron James, Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic, and Brook Lopez, can also become free agents in 2016 depending on how they handle options in their contracts or opt-out clauses. On top of those, there are players that will be free agents this summer who may choose to sign a 1-year contract to become a free agent again next summer, including Marc Gasol, DeAndre Jordan, and LaMarcus Aldridge.